Dec 28, 2023·edited Dec 28, 2023Liked by Wayne Hsiung
Wayne you have put words to a concept that has been milling around in my mind since occupy. It was occupy that lead me to go vegan and lead me to become an activist for all beings. Thank you for your clarity and wordsmithing brilliance. And especially thank you for being so apt at explaining the analogies. I have had a jenga set standing in my living room for nearly 2 years .... until I had to put it away to market my apartment which is simply no longer affordable in NYC. Irony ...right?
Wayne you're speaking my language applying physics, laws of thermodynamics in particular, to social systems. I tend to do that with economics and ecological issues as well. There are many current examples of these points of vulnerability in the anima ag sector: avian Influenza, child labor abuses, worker issues, climate change contributions, and so on. These examples represent jenga pieces that have already been pulled. Any good battle strategy will exploit existing system weakness. In addition, as you've pointed out, natural laws will also exploit those weaknesses. The law of entropy is quite simple at its core: heat (not hot air) flows towards cold until equilibrium is reached. It's about systems equilibrating, or revving a point of balance. It's what the entire universe is doing. Animal suffering caused by humans has created a massive imbalance that will by default be seeking to equilibrate. And we can (and must) take advantage of that Even pro fighters know that you create (or identify) a weakness in the opponent and then keep attacking it. So let's take Avian Influenza and figure out how to use the momentum of that existing weakness to jiggle the system and
and accelerate its collapse. Yes, the government will backfill the space that's created through subsidies and reimbursement. But I'm willing to bet that eyebrows are starting to raise about just how much longer they can keep the house standing by injecting wood epoxy into the rotting piers of the foundation. At some point it becomes an unsustainable endeavor. How can we exploit this weakness, or utilize the existing momentum, to accelerate the collapse? And to be clear, I am not suggesting anything physical or biological as a solution. I'm suggesting information- based targeted solutions. The Avian Influenza crisis in the industry is like the iceberg that the ship ran into, except in this case the ship created the iceberg. In order to stay afloat they try to bail the water as fast as, or faster than the ship takes it on. To take advantage of this weakness we could either A) widen the hole where the water is coming in or B) reduce the ability to bail. Since the bail (out) comes from the government which has been infiltrated by industry players, widening the hole seems like the path of least resistance. But what does that actually look like in terms of actions we can take? Again. Not physical. I'm being metaphorical. We could also talk about child labor in the same way. Can we get a think tank going? Public messaging is always at the top of my mental list, but funding is the challenge to be overcome.
Dec 28, 2023·edited Dec 28, 2023Liked by Wayne Hsiung
With respect to the subsidies/bailouts problem, and in the context of "working within the system", Agriculture Fairness Alliance is a vegan backed lobbying organization influencing Farm Bill policy for several years now. If only all vegans would support it, the impact could be that much greater. We have the numbers, but sadly we just aren't using our own political power to its greatest potential. The idea and opportunity to unite politically seems like a no-brainer to me, but oddly the interest is not what it should be.
I have my thinking cap on alot too about public messaging ... and how we can break through the media blackout that Jane Velez Mitchell speaks of. My dream is for some vegan tycoons to create our own mainstream tv network. Wondering if public access cable tv could be of any use ... but just don't know the viewership.
Dec 28, 2023·edited Dec 28, 2023Liked by Wayne Hsiung
Always good to hear sound reasoning to hold onto hope. This is a brilliant piece, if not your most brilliant Wayne, though, how does one choose? :)
Though I wonder, and also cry tears, about why these themes ... these playbooks ... of cruel authoritarianism keep recurring. And the suffering and the struggling never ends. Why do we never learn from our mistakes and when will it end?
I see the process of "jiggling" as also "chipping away".
"Though I wonder, and also cry tears, about why these themes ... these playbooks ... of cruel authoritarianism keep recurring. And the suffering and the struggling never ends. Why do we never learn from our mistakes and when will it end?"
This is a good question. Maybe a subject for a future blog post.
Would love to hear your thoughts on something I wonder about, which is the male gender component in pretty much all perpetration of domination and violence. I am not coming from a place of male-bashing, at all. I just think, it cannot be denied, and is never actually talked about. And then, there's the question of extraterrestrial interference in our evolution, as a possible explanation. It's alot, I know.
Who knew that thermodynamics and the mechanics of social change could converge so felicitously?
Through the skillful means of pulling seemingly disparate ideas together into a comprehensible whole, you have again demonstrated that teaching is a gift, and you are a brilliant teacher, Wayne.
This is a brilliant piece of writing. I’m going to re read it to fully understand it. But I can see the cracks in the systems very clearly. The American empire is in process of teetering and a course correction must occur. Or do unjust systems have to fall before real changes that affect us all can happen?
Wow! What a powerful action! And I believe things have changed a lot, especially over the past ten years or so. In my experience as a vegan of forty years, it's so much easier now than it was before.
I see a major societal jiggle happening with the violence taking place in Gaza, and I hope we can help it to jiggle in the right direction, the direction of more peace, equality and thriving in the world.
A rather long article ,but I read it. I like animals more than humans because experience with humans has taught me so. I don't support some of the social groups you mention because I don't agree with their methods ,premises and ...... none have animal welfare /veganism or position on speciesism in their tenets. Please prove me wrong.
Dec 31, 2023·edited Dec 31, 2023Liked by Wayne Hsiung
It is worth noting that the complete disregard for animals and their rights today is actually new in human culture and society. Really, it's an aberration and not reflective of how most people have thought in most of history, and although it surprised me to learn, it's not too surprising after some thought, since after all, *we* are animals and it's bizarre and unnatural to think of other animals the way so many do today. In the 17th century, it was Rene "I think, therefore I am" Descartes to popularly introduce the idea that animals are unthinking automatons not worthy of rights or respect.
Contrast this with the European Middle Ages (and I'm sure other parts of the world I'm less knowledgeable on in this area to point out), where before such thinkers as Descartes, animals had rights to the degree one might try to go announce to a plague of locusts that it is charged with a crime and has been summoned to attend court. If the animal did not show up, they would sometimes even see it as their own failure and assign them a better lawyer!
As ridiculous and funny as that way of thinking is—in my view, humans have a sacred duty to be the guardians of life and of the well-being of other animals, which does not include expecting them to get some manners and show up to court—I can't help but feel we went way off course from that well-intentioned, naïve and innocent ignorance. And speaking of entropy, if one looks at human history and how we thought in the past, the more likely state—the human default—is certainly for us to respect other animals and nature.
These are very good points, and links, too. My own take is that the disregard for other animals goes deep, however, into the evolutionary origins of our species. We decimated megafauna across the planet beginning 10,000 years ago, and began reshaping ecosystems hundreds of thousands of years ago, when anatomically modern human beings first appeared. And in all that, we never thought much about other animals (or even other human beings)! For that reason, I suspect speciesism runs deep.
That does not mean it can't be changed, however. And I think one of the wonderful things about our species is that culture, which is remarkably adaptable, can shift on a non-evolutionary timescale.
Way over my head! I had to skim much of it, but the conclusion is good. What stood out, however, was a grammatical error! It’s not correct to say, “for you and I.” It should be, “for you and me.”
Haha, good catch! Fixed. (Also this is my first comment on substack since coming out of jail. Appropriate that it's about a dumb error on my part - expect a lot more of those)
Thanks so much for sharing this! I've been following your posts with interests for a while now. I found the idea of a connection between the Second Law of Thermodynamics (which I've always found very depressing as a concept) and the possibility of social justice, including for animals, to be fascinating and very inspiring!
Wow...Connecting the dots on all levels of existence. Brings me back to this quote:
As long as man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living beings he will never know health or peace. For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other.
Wayne you have put words to a concept that has been milling around in my mind since occupy. It was occupy that lead me to go vegan and lead me to become an activist for all beings. Thank you for your clarity and wordsmithing brilliance. And especially thank you for being so apt at explaining the analogies. I have had a jenga set standing in my living room for nearly 2 years .... until I had to put it away to market my apartment which is simply no longer affordable in NYC. Irony ...right?
I love that occupy led you to veganism! And that you had a jenga tower for 2 years. Was it standing that entire time?
Indeed it stood the test of time. <3
Wayne you're speaking my language applying physics, laws of thermodynamics in particular, to social systems. I tend to do that with economics and ecological issues as well. There are many current examples of these points of vulnerability in the anima ag sector: avian Influenza, child labor abuses, worker issues, climate change contributions, and so on. These examples represent jenga pieces that have already been pulled. Any good battle strategy will exploit existing system weakness. In addition, as you've pointed out, natural laws will also exploit those weaknesses. The law of entropy is quite simple at its core: heat (not hot air) flows towards cold until equilibrium is reached. It's about systems equilibrating, or revving a point of balance. It's what the entire universe is doing. Animal suffering caused by humans has created a massive imbalance that will by default be seeking to equilibrate. And we can (and must) take advantage of that Even pro fighters know that you create (or identify) a weakness in the opponent and then keep attacking it. So let's take Avian Influenza and figure out how to use the momentum of that existing weakness to jiggle the system and
and accelerate its collapse. Yes, the government will backfill the space that's created through subsidies and reimbursement. But I'm willing to bet that eyebrows are starting to raise about just how much longer they can keep the house standing by injecting wood epoxy into the rotting piers of the foundation. At some point it becomes an unsustainable endeavor. How can we exploit this weakness, or utilize the existing momentum, to accelerate the collapse? And to be clear, I am not suggesting anything physical or biological as a solution. I'm suggesting information- based targeted solutions. The Avian Influenza crisis in the industry is like the iceberg that the ship ran into, except in this case the ship created the iceberg. In order to stay afloat they try to bail the water as fast as, or faster than the ship takes it on. To take advantage of this weakness we could either A) widen the hole where the water is coming in or B) reduce the ability to bail. Since the bail (out) comes from the government which has been infiltrated by industry players, widening the hole seems like the path of least resistance. But what does that actually look like in terms of actions we can take? Again. Not physical. I'm being metaphorical. We could also talk about child labor in the same way. Can we get a think tank going? Public messaging is always at the top of my mental list, but funding is the challenge to be overcome.
"how much longer they can keep the house standing by injecting wood epoxy into the rotting piers of the foundation."
This is a wonderful turn of phrase.
Also, hope to connect again before Ridglan! Thanks for all your efforts, Sarah!
With respect to the subsidies/bailouts problem, and in the context of "working within the system", Agriculture Fairness Alliance is a vegan backed lobbying organization influencing Farm Bill policy for several years now. If only all vegans would support it, the impact could be that much greater. We have the numbers, but sadly we just aren't using our own political power to its greatest potential. The idea and opportunity to unite politically seems like a no-brainer to me, but oddly the interest is not what it should be.
I have my thinking cap on alot too about public messaging ... and how we can break through the media blackout that Jane Velez Mitchell speaks of. My dream is for some vegan tycoons to create our own mainstream tv network. Wondering if public access cable tv could be of any use ... but just don't know the viewership.
Thank you for this information. I'll check out the alliance for sure! We should talk.
yes we're friends on fb. :)
Always good to hear sound reasoning to hold onto hope. This is a brilliant piece, if not your most brilliant Wayne, though, how does one choose? :)
Though I wonder, and also cry tears, about why these themes ... these playbooks ... of cruel authoritarianism keep recurring. And the suffering and the struggling never ends. Why do we never learn from our mistakes and when will it end?
I see the process of "jiggling" as also "chipping away".
"Though I wonder, and also cry tears, about why these themes ... these playbooks ... of cruel authoritarianism keep recurring. And the suffering and the struggling never ends. Why do we never learn from our mistakes and when will it end?"
This is a good question. Maybe a subject for a future blog post.
Would love to hear your thoughts on something I wonder about, which is the male gender component in pretty much all perpetration of domination and violence. I am not coming from a place of male-bashing, at all. I just think, it cannot be denied, and is never actually talked about. And then, there's the question of extraterrestrial interference in our evolution, as a possible explanation. It's alot, I know.
Who knew that thermodynamics and the mechanics of social change could converge so felicitously?
Through the skillful means of pulling seemingly disparate ideas together into a comprehensible whole, you have again demonstrated that teaching is a gift, and you are a brilliant teacher, Wayne.
This is a brilliant piece of writing. I’m going to re read it to fully understand it. But I can see the cracks in the systems very clearly. The American empire is in process of teetering and a course correction must occur. Or do unjust systems have to fall before real changes that affect us all can happen?
The empire teetering seems an understatement to me. It's being demolished in full view!
Rather it's demolishing itself
Wow! What a powerful action! And I believe things have changed a lot, especially over the past ten years or so. In my experience as a vegan of forty years, it's so much easier now than it was before.
I see a major societal jiggle happening with the violence taking place in Gaza, and I hope we can help it to jiggle in the right direction, the direction of more peace, equality and thriving in the world.
Brian Greene went vegetarian at nine years old and has been vegan since 1997.
We should reach out to him!
I wish you'd write about the affect the Supreme Court ruling upholding Proposition 12 has on the movement.
Not a bad idea... what's your take?
A rather long article ,but I read it. I like animals more than humans because experience with humans has taught me so. I don't support some of the social groups you mention because I don't agree with their methods ,premises and ...... none have animal welfare /veganism or position on speciesism in their tenets. Please prove me wrong.
It is worth noting that the complete disregard for animals and their rights today is actually new in human culture and society. Really, it's an aberration and not reflective of how most people have thought in most of history, and although it surprised me to learn, it's not too surprising after some thought, since after all, *we* are animals and it's bizarre and unnatural to think of other animals the way so many do today. In the 17th century, it was Rene "I think, therefore I am" Descartes to popularly introduce the idea that animals are unthinking automatons not worthy of rights or respect.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_animal_rights
Contrast this with the European Middle Ages (and I'm sure other parts of the world I'm less knowledgeable on in this area to point out), where before such thinkers as Descartes, animals had rights to the degree one might try to go announce to a plague of locusts that it is charged with a crime and has been summoned to attend court. If the animal did not show up, they would sometimes even see it as their own failure and assign them a better lawyer!
https://daily.jstor.org/when-societies-put-animals-on-trial/
As ridiculous and funny as that way of thinking is—in my view, humans have a sacred duty to be the guardians of life and of the well-being of other animals, which does not include expecting them to get some manners and show up to court—I can't help but feel we went way off course from that well-intentioned, naïve and innocent ignorance. And speaking of entropy, if one looks at human history and how we thought in the past, the more likely state—the human default—is certainly for us to respect other animals and nature.
These are very good points, and links, too. My own take is that the disregard for other animals goes deep, however, into the evolutionary origins of our species. We decimated megafauna across the planet beginning 10,000 years ago, and began reshaping ecosystems hundreds of thousands of years ago, when anatomically modern human beings first appeared. And in all that, we never thought much about other animals (or even other human beings)! For that reason, I suspect speciesism runs deep.
That does not mean it can't be changed, however. And I think one of the wonderful things about our species is that culture, which is remarkably adaptable, can shift on a non-evolutionary timescale.
But thanks again for these thoughts!
it's natural brilliance. thanks.
Really interesting, as always. I just wish every instance of the word "equality" was replaced with the word "equity".
What a thought-provoking article. Each one of your blogs expands my thinking about animal rescue and beyond. Thank you, Wayne!
Way over my head! I had to skim much of it, but the conclusion is good. What stood out, however, was a grammatical error! It’s not correct to say, “for you and I.” It should be, “for you and me.”
Haha, good catch! Fixed. (Also this is my first comment on substack since coming out of jail. Appropriate that it's about a dumb error on my part - expect a lot more of those)
Thanks so much for sharing this! I've been following your posts with interests for a while now. I found the idea of a connection between the Second Law of Thermodynamics (which I've always found very depressing as a concept) and the possibility of social justice, including for animals, to be fascinating and very inspiring!
Wow...Connecting the dots on all levels of existence. Brings me back to this quote:
As long as man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living beings he will never know health or peace. For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other.
Pythagoras